Joined-up Justice

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 09, 2010

Our public safety services are overly complicated, inaccessible, and not delivering strong justice outcomes and clear value for money, says a report published today: 2020 Public Safety: Opportunities for Reform. As a new round of reforms begins, it is essential to agree the principles that hold together this vast range of diverse activity.

The report
finds:

A lack of
transparency about where the money goes (Sentencing Advisory Panel
concluded this year that they couldn't give robust guidance to judges about how
much the different sentencing options cost).

A lack of
evidence about what the money achieves

Aconfusion of services leaving some people locked in bureaucracy, and some people lightly supervised
(up to 10 separate assessments for some people leaving prison to assess their
needs, but only a maximum of one hour's face to face time with probation
services for some the most high risk offenders in the community)

Local authorities are investing time and energy in ‘plan compliance' to satisfy Whitehall
accounting, instead of being free to invest innovatively in their areas.

The Commission's
three proposed shifts in the way we approach public services - a shift in
culture from social security to social productivity; a shift in power from the
centre to citizens; and a shift in finance, re-connecting it with purposes -
could get us out of our current cul-de-sacs.
The report suggests some specific examples of the types of change that
follow from the new thinking. These
include:

Socially Productive Public Safety Services in 2020
will take citizenship more seriously by attaching more importance to people's
views and actions:

Give citizens a say in deciding ‘what works' in sentencing and
rehabilitation. Establish an independent body - a criminal justice
equivalent of NICE - in which
a citizens' panel will have a powerful say in its
decisions.

Help offenders back into work, if they are committed to starting
afresh. Those who have
offended should have the opportunity to reduce the rehabilitation period
attached to their sentence by volunteering at a recognised charity or
social service, where their contribution counts towards the reduction. Police records would be unaffected and
the most serious offenders exempted.

Connecting finance to the
purposes of public safety in 2020 will ensure that investment of public
resource clearly follows public benefit:

Give communities a say over how to use money
saved from reducing use of imprisonment so that it makes their communities
safer. ‘Justice reinvestment' savings subject to
Participatory Budgeting.

Shifting Power from Centre to Citizen in public
safety in 2020 will support local leadership and energise professionals:

Key public safety services, such as local
probation services, witness support services and ‘bail hostels' should be
mutualised - This would create more specialist providers
and empower professionals. They
would focus on getting the relational aspects of services right, reducing
unnecessary bureaucracy and encouraging a proportionate attitude to risk.

Give judges the power to attach conditions
(for treatment, learning etc) to custodial sentences, and the power to
review whether these have been carried out.

2020 Commissioner, Dame Clare Tickell said:

"This
is an important moment in the development of public safety services. Our report demonstrates that just and cost
effective solutions are available, though reaching them will require clear
leadership, honest debate and strategic commitment. We hope that our practical suggestions for
reform bring substance and direction to this debate. They begin to put flesh on the key principles
that should inform public safety's policy narrative: citizen-agency, locality
leadership and financial transparency."

Jen
Byrne, Development Director, Justice at A4e said:

'The Coalition
government has signalled its intent to overhaul the criminal justice system
through the proposed 'Rehabilitation Revolution'. Ahead of the Autumn's
Green Paper, this report provides timely insight into the scale of that
challenge and suggests solutions to help tackle it. Fundamental
restructuring of services is needed to ensure we can find cost-savings while
delivering better, long-term outcomes for both individuals and communities'.

ENDS

For more information
please contact Ashish Prashar on 07775 501 839

Notes to Editors

2020 Public Safety: Opportunities for Reform - Few areas of public policy have been as busy or as strongly
contested as public safety. This
report asks if the Commission's approach to public services - shifting
culture, power and finance - could form the basis of a clear and
consensual narrative, connecting all the key stakeholders. It illustrates the progress that could
be made between now and 2020 with a series of practical proposals on
commissioning, sentencing and mutualisation. Download the report

The
2020 Public Services Trust is a registered charity (no. 1124095), based at
the RSA. It is not aligned with any political party and operates with
independence and impartiality. The Trust exists to stimulate deeper
understanding of the challenges facing public services in the medium term.
Through research, inquiry and discourse, it aims to develop rigorous and
practical solutions, capable of sustaining support across all political
parties. For more information about
the Trust please visit www.2020publicservicestrust.org

The
Trust launched the Commission on 2020 Public Services in December 2008, to
recommend the characteristics of a new public services settlement
appropriate for the future needs and aspirations of citizens, and the best
practical arrangements for its implementation.

Commission members span a wide breadth of political opinion,
experience and expertise from academia, business, the voluntary sector,
and the public policy and political world.
Sir Andrew Foster is the Chair, and members range from the Rt Hon
Stephen Dorrell MP and Bridget Rosewell to Lord Victor Adebowale and
Matthew Taylor. The full list of
members can be found here.

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